Disney Lorcana continues to evolve and grow its meta game with every expansion, and that’s certainly true of the sixth set, Azurite Sea. Undoubtedly a hugely anticipated set, launching at the same time in Australia as the rest of the world and following on from a PAX Australia takeover that brought in legions of new Lorcana lovers, Azurite Sea doesn’t add any major core mechanics like past expansions, though it does shake things up with two new character types that make for some unique and satisfying deck builds.
Sailing the Seas
Where other sets focused on building out the game overall, Azurite Sea feels more focused in scope, allowing you to craft specific decks that have opportunities to stack characters and activate relevant abilities. The two Single Player Decks include a Pirate deck and an Inventor deck, each themed perfectly and coming with their own specific card rules that make them formidable, when used correctly.
“…it’s great to see other characters from the Pooh-niverse getting involved too, with Hunny Pirate Winnie, alongside Littlest Pirate Roo.”
The Pirate deck is a visual stand-out, thanks to its adorable buccaneer theming. Tigger in the Crow’s Nest and Honourable Pirate Jim Hawkins lead the charge, but it’s great to see other characters from the Pooh-niverse getting involved too, with Hunny Pirate Winnie, alongside Littlest Pirate Roo. Focusing on the camaraderie and teamwork of your crew above all else, these cards include a bunch of Pirate-character abilities that stack well. For example, Jim Hawkins allows you to look at the top 4 cards of your deck and put Pirate characters directly into your hand, while Wendy Darling adds an extra attack and lore when another Pirate is in play. Pooh Pirate Ship as an item lets you return a Pirate character card from discard to your hand.
There’s also a re-focus on Location cards in this set; Moana is an incredibly strong card in this regard. She costs 7 Ink to play, but at a 6/5 she can move any number of characters to the same location for free, earning you 1 Lore for each character moved. She’s a Captain, as well, which is important to activate other cards in the deck. This could make for some daring late-game plays that will really turn the tide, and I love how there is a real synergy between the various characters and abilities. To have them tie in the gameplay and the visual aesthetic so well with the same theme is incredibly well done.
The Theory of Invention
If the Pirate life isn’t for you, you might want to look at an Inventor deck. Using characters primarily based around gathering items and buffing other Inventor characters, its leaders include Gadget Hackwrench from Rescue Rangers and Go Go Tomago from Big Hero 6, both franchises a welcome addition to Disney Lorcana overall.
From the cards included in this Single Player Deck, Inventors are more interested in generating Lore, rather than battling others, and can build up their own defense to make sure they stay in play. For example, Hiro Hamada gives all other Inventor characters a Resist + 1, while the iconic Baymax (shown holding a lifebuoy and giving a cute wave) is discounted on entry, if another Inventor is already in play. If you want to build an item-focused deck around Gadget, having her and 3 items on the board means that all Inventor characters cost one less Ink, Wasabi can banish an item and give that player a Lore (as an apology?), while Ambitious Entrepreneur Alistair Krei benefits with Lore if your opponent has an item in play.
While it doesn’t nail the theming as much as the Pirate deck, it still feels cohesive while offering yet another different tactic for Lorcana players who want to have more tactical options. Some of the items are certainly effective; Baymax’s Healthcare Chip can remove 1 damage, or 3 if there’s a Robot character in play, stacking well with Baymax themselves. Then there’s the Megabot, which you can tap to banish an item or banish a damaged character, which is super useful for getting rid of a high-value opponent. It’s nice to see some more variety in the way Disney Lorcana games will go; by opting to add new strategies and character types instead of overly complex game-changing mechanics, it adds layers that is sure to help the new-ish TCG to thrive in the long-term.
While not as bold as previous expansions on a mechanical level, Azurite Sea is one of the strongest sets so far when it comes to its visuals. Disney Lorcana has such a deep pool of talented artists across the globe, and it’s great to see them tackle themes like Pirates and stepping outside of the expected sea-faring characters.
It’s impressive that they continually manage to introduce new Disney IPs like Big Hero 6 combining with what I’d consider to be Lorcana veteran characters like Stitch and Winnie the Pooh with lots of new, adorable versions. Lorcana continues to make its entire visual DNA feel cohesive, with Azurite Sea another shining example.
Disney Lorcana: Azurite Sea will be released on November 15.
Thanks to Disney ANZ for providing us with Single Player Decks to provide this coverage.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
